


Sometimes Luck is Killer Algae to the Hand

by elbatross



Series: The Marimo AU [2]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Groping, M/M, Making Out, Marimo, Plants, axolotls, murderous marimo, they are marimo what else should i say
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-10
Updated: 2013-01-10
Packaged: 2017-11-25 00:06:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/632990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elbatross/pseuds/elbatross
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "I Want To Roll You Up Into My Life." </p><p>Charles decides he wants to do some studying, both of the marimo and one Professor Erik Lensherr of the Arts Department. What better way to accomplish the task than by using five lucky charms and the excuse of providing inspiration? Meanwhile, Erik the Murderous Marimo isn't too pleased about having his family moved from their home to a place with suspicious humans running about and touching his Charles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes Luck is Killer Algae to the Hand

**Author's Note:**

> I still have no clue what I'm doing but you guys wanted more so here it goes. Also a few disclaimers:
> 
> A) Marimo are probably nowhere near as active as I make them out to be in this. This is exaggerated and even these guys are mutated.  
> B) New marimo usually don't form from two marimo since they're all just algae to begin with. Again, this is bullshit science.  
> C) Axolotls will try to eat anything they think will fit in their mouth, including pinkie fingers that are a plastic tub away.
> 
> With that in mind, enjoy!

They were moved. Erik didn't like it.

He just wanted to be home with the children and Charles, in their own little tank with the mollys and their castle. But no, The Human insisted that they were to be packed up and rehomed elsewhere for some time. The sudden change of habitat came when Soft Human, the one who reminded him of Charles and was just as tender when handling him, paid a visit to their little home. It was just like Charles to roll over to someone new and then proceed to show off their babies, and even if he wanted to blame his partner for their resettlement, he couldn't stay angry with him for long. Pietro, Wanda, and their littlest Lorna all seemed fine with sticking to Daddy on their move, and The Human made sure that they'd stay safely attached to Charles.

The new aquarium was far bigger than their usual home, which made Erik even more fretful for the little ones. Their tankmates were also unlike any he'd ever had before, long and soft looking with mouths that gaped whenever a guppy or some bloodworms were dropped in. They were sort of messy, fortunately, leaving plenty of small leftovers for them to absorb, and there had only been conflict once before Erik took action and deprived the pink and spotted one of his right front leg.

(The gold one, Michael, assured him that James was only trying to get a look at their young. Erik didn't think that required them getting close to his mouth. They were separated once Soft Human found out and that was that.)

As far as he was concerned, the only good thing about their new home was that they had a set of caves and sand that was far easier to roll on than gravel. For Charles, that meant he had a good space for teaching the children how to float and roll, and for Erik the caves meant that they had private space to adhere together and just photosynthesize. Still, he hated everything else. Everything was too different from home and on weekends he would see their caretaker twice in all, sending Charles into a bit of a pout that they didn't see The Human as often. He visited as often as he could, but usually they were alone with the monstrous neighbors behind the invisible barrier and Soft Human.

"Charles," Erik finally announced one day, "I'm going to find us a way out of here if it kills me. I'd rather watch the brothers bicker in the next aquarium over than being continuously picked up and stroked like some, some pet!"

"Now Erik, it isn't so bad. The children love it here." He propelled himself to Erik, nuzzling against him. "Right, kids?" Of course, they weren't entirely formed enough to speak yet, just big enough to have a proper roundness to them and for little Pete to spin about wildly like Dad. The girls were more like their Papa, content to stay where they were for a while until they wanted to play, just as they were in the moment. Charles preened. "See?" Erik simply flattened himself a little more. "Well only be here for a little while longer, I think, and then it's back to our own little place in the dark with cold water and weekly baths. Although, the new fellow isn't so bad with those either."

"He's alright. What I'm worried about the most is why we're here with him, and if it's going to continue to be dangerous for the children. He always brings that Handsy Human with him, the one with the sharp bits. I don't like that one." Handsy Human had been around a few times to coo over Charles and himself, sometimes accompanying Their Human and making him turn as pink as James the Monster. 

"Erik, you have sharp bits too."

"That's entirely different. They're there for protection, which we obviously need if we're to survive." He peered outside the tank, spotting the Soft Human with someone new following them. Erik bristled at the new and threatening face, and when he reached into the tank to pick Charles up, he launched himself at vulnerable flesh to puncture it with every bone he'd hoarded in his body.

***

As soon as they'd made the discovery, Charles knew he had to observe Hank's pets for just a little longer. Plants, even those that attracted insects and other small creatures, didn't seem to have the emotional capabilities that the marimo had. He also had to consider that the specimens could have been mutated as an effort to conserve what was already an endangered species, which would require even more testing of all five plants. Were he being entirely honest, though, he would have to admit that he wanted to spend as much time with such cute highly evolved fauna as he possibly could, and the only other way to achieve such a feat would to have been camping out at Hank's for an eternity. As much as he would have liked to just sit and watch them, every moment was a chance to observe them for science and collect samples of their plant matter. Erik, the largest algae, was obviously just as protective as described, and had to be handled separately from the other four with thicker gloves. Charles really had no clue where it'd been getting bones from at this point, nor how it managed so many baths with a crab claw in its supposedly hollow middle.

The smaller marimo were much more delightful, and from time to time Charles would catch himself pulling out the of his namesake to talk through some of the intricacies of their genetic make up with it. He'd coo and stroke it's silky body, chuckling fondly at it whenever it bounced in one of his water filled teacups on his desk as he graded papers or typed up his newest findings. Still, he never kept this Charles from Erik for long, and he was endlessly thrilled at the way Erik would go to it's partner and escort it back to their little ones. Then there was the way they almost seemed to cuddle in the coves of the plastic rocks, or how Charles let the babies roll after him as if they were ducks. He imagined that one day he and Professor Lehnsherr could huddle together in bed like that, or adopt children of their own that might follow him about learning how to ride their bikes or recite the periodic table of elements to a tune. It would only be a fantasy, however, unless he could devise a plan to get Erik interested in him in the first place.

One look at Charles the marimo resting atop Erik as they pressed against the glass gave him the perfect idea, and he grinned at them triumphantly. Erik had always said that he enjoyed drawing inspiration for his art from real life sources.

***

"Erik, no!" Charles swooped in to pull the man's hand from the aquarium, but it was already too late. The vicious marimo had already sunk it's weapons into his hand, and Erik was attempting to shake it off. He helped him remove the sharp bits from his hand once it had seemed to realize it had won the battle and rolled off to it's mate, pulling the first aid kit from his desk drawer for antiseptic and band aids. 

"You could have said that they attack before you started yelling at me ."

"They don't both attack, just that one," he assured him. "And I wasn't yelling at you, I was yelling at it." There was a hiss from Erik, then an inquiring hum.

"You named it Erik?" One of his eyebrows shot up, an amused smirk forming on the corner of his mouth. Charles flushed to his collarbone, which he'd purposely left bare and now wished he hadn't.

"I-I didn't do that, Hank McCoy did. They're his. He thought it was funny." He cleared his throat. "Raven must have told him about the time you accidentally stabbed the former Dean with those exaco knives while she and I were visiting your room, but that wouldn't explain why the other is named Charles. You know how the boy is, he's been in your art appreciation classes." There was a quiet moment between them, Charles finishing up with the patching of the shockingly substantial wounds and letting Erik's hand rest on his knee. "It's nothing, really." When he glanced up, he caught Erik watching the marimo cuddle together, the smaller "adult" coaxing the larger to sway with it and their spawn. 

"When did I ever say that was an accident?" His gaze never left the aquarium, or else he would have seen the look of pure horror on Charles's face. 

"Erik, you didn't." The shark-like grin and tightening grip on his knee was all the confirmation he needed. "You could have been fired if he knew!"

"It was a risk that I didn't mind taking if it ensured that you weren't going to be another victim of his rampant wandering hands." He stood and let go of Charles, approaching the tank again. This time, Charles floated to the top without Erik, allowing the man to take him out and pet him. "I think I understand why that Erik might have attacked me if he felt like I was a threat. Hank's a little more perceptive than I think I'm comfortable with. Or maybe I'm not the only one who can see how adorable you are." Erik gently set the ball of moss back into the water, turning to face the human Charles.

"Oh...OH." He clamored out of his chair and hurried to Erik's side, straightening his vest while putting on his best smile. "If I didn't know better, Professor Lehnsherr, I'd think you were admitting to having a little interest in me."

"If I didn't know your wardrobe better, I'd think you were trying to look more like a student than a professor for once." Erik's hand rested on Charles's hip, thumb hooking in his belt loop to pull him closer before unhooking to slide to it's final destination where the jeans clung best. "An ass like that belongs on something from the ancient Greeks instead of on a chair in the lab."

"I'm fairly sure that the Greeks would have their works be a little less clothed than I am right now, but if that's an invitation to remedy the situation..." Charles leaned up to brush his lips to Erik's, smiling into it and parting them when Erik started to nibble. His breath caught in his throat when the hand snaked into his pocket to grope and pull him closer, a greedy swipe of tongue slipping into his mouth. He looped his arms around Erik's waist and guided him to stand against the aquarium for support, thankful that it was against the wall in the first place. 

Once there was a little more stability, Charles took charge by untucking Erik's shirt from his jeans and promptly shoving a hand down them. Erik pulled away from him, face slowly gaining color and his breathing uneven.

"It's for science. I'm getting the observational data now so that I will be able to focus on the other data I'll be gathering later. Surely you respect the scientific method, my friend." He grinned mischievously, giving another short peck to Erik's lips before he found himself victim to stubble burn once more. Erik messily worked his way down the exposed expanse of throat Charles had bared just for him, pausing at the hollow of his throat to taste the little bit of perspiration that had formed there. Charles chuckled giddily as he unbuttoned his vest as quickly as he could, then burst into laughter as Erik glanced up at him and latched his teeth onto one of the buttons of his shirt. "For goodness sake, Erik, you really mustn't."

Erik gripped the fabric with his free hand and with a little clever maneuvering managed to undo another button with his mouth. It was just enough to nudge the shirt open a little further and lap at a peaked nipple, the edge of his teeth tempted to nip at the flesh. There was a throaty groan and a little grind of Charles's palm against his steadily hardening and woefully covered cock as answer. His grip on Charles's ass was nearing the point of bruising in an attempt to keep his hold, and just as he was about to remedy the situation and push Charles over to the desk, the door opened.

"Professor Xavier, the results from the lab came in. You'll never believe it, the marimo ARE mutated, just like you sai-" Hank hadn't been paying much attention, still reading over the files and brimming with excitement when he walked in on the scene. There was a pause from everyone, the men at the aquarium locked in their intimate embrace and Hank still in the doorway with his mouth opened wider than the two hungry axolotls. It was Charles who spoke first, stumbling over his words in an attempt to keep everyone calm.

"Just...Just put them on the desk, Hank, and I'll be sure to take a look at them. Thank you." The young man wordlessly did as he was instructed and closed the door behind him, never making eye contact with either professor and certainly not paying any mind to Charles removing his hand from Erik's pants. They took a moment to compose themselves, readjust their clothing, and in an act of kindness to the poor creatures in the aquarium they wiped down the glass and put in a little food. There were stolen glances and nervous chuckles exchanged before Erik straightened up and thoughtfully stroked his stubble.

"Well, seeing as we're on the same page now, I think it's probably appropriate that I ask if you'd like to get dinner sometime. I know a place that does decent sushi, seeing as you're in an aquatic phase right now." He gestured at the aquarium, where the largest marimo ominously pressed itself against the glass as if it could smell the blood from his wounded hand. Charles smiled.

"I'd love to." 

***

It was one thing that Scary Human had tried to touch him and actually lived to tell the tale. Holding Charles AND getting away with attacking Soft Human was something he wouldn't stand for, meaning that while he was staying in this strange place he would have to protect Soft Human as well. Erik pressed himself against the glass, puffing up as much as he could to seem more intimidating. His children only saw their Papa as being more cuddly.

"Erik, I don't think he was hurting him," Charles reassured. "In fact, the smaller one was making the same movements that Our Human does when he talks to His Human."

"That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous, Charles. I'm going to keep an eye on him for as long as I can. I almost got him last time, did you see?" He proudly recounted his successful attack on Scary Human to the little ones, who seemed to listen attentively. Charles let him be, watching the humans outside their aquarium sit next to one another and get close. For once, he actually believed the old stories his father told him when he was just a little ball about their kind being lucky to humans, and he hoped that it was true.


End file.
